Free Agent: A NovelJeremy Duns
Penguin, June 2010
ISBN: 978-0143117254
Though Free Agent is Jeremy Duns debut novel, his strengths as a storyteller are fully evident here. The opening chapter alone serves as a narrative tour-de-force, swiftly and adroitly introducing the reader to the central characters, their impossible situation, and the hopeless, duplicitous world they inhabit.
A KGB Agent turns up during the Biafra civil war in Nigeria, wanting to defect to the West. He offers shocking information; there is a traitor in the British Secret Service, a double agent who has been operating undetected for more than two decades. The mole is quickly revealed to the reader and an adventure begins that involves death and destruction across two continents.
The story at the heart of Free Agent implicates all sides in the struggle in a hypocritical conspiracy of betrayal and disloyalty. Free Agent has excellent pacing, deft characterization and manages to condense a considerable amount of treachery in a minimum of exposition. Duns is a great storyteller and a master at plotting out the grim duel between his spies. Free Agent is a clever work, in which the plot turns in on itself suddenly and viciously, casting some light on a dark arena in which no one can be trusted.
This is a fast-paced and exciting spy thriller filled with twists and turns that will keep the reader engaged. A truly great book, with characters one cares for and a deftly plotted story that both surprises and distresses the reader. The message of the book is not a pleasant one, but then the reality of Cold War espionage was not pleasant either. Free Agent is a classic in espionage and a timeless literary masterpiece.
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